The South Carolina Gamecocks have ‘upset’ and knocked off archrival Clemson Tigers in dramatic fashion in Week 14. Once the thrill of the victory has settled in for Gamecock fans, it’s safe to start looking ahead.
Is South Carolina in the College Football Playoffs with this win?
South Carolina’s Playoff Odds
The Gamecocks are now 9-3 after knocking off Clemson. That puts them in prime position to be an at-large playoff team, if the chips fall in the right place for them.
Let’s set the stage on the rankings and try to map out the way to the postseason for the Gamecocks.
First things first, South Carolina ranked No. 15 in the last iteration of the playoff rankings. Clemson, on the other hand, ranked No. 12. It could be safe to think that these two teams would just swap their spots and Clemson would free fall from there.
Even at No. 12, the Gamecocks aren’t guaranteed a spot in the 12-team playoff, however.
These teams are in the way of South Carolina as it stands right now:
- No. 14 Ole Miss (won vs. Mississippi State)
- No. 13 Alabama (playing Auburn)
- No. 12 Clemson (lost to SC)
- No. 11 Boise State (plays in MWC Championship Game)
- No. 10 Indiana (plays Purdue)
- No. 9 SMU (won vs. Cal; plays in ACC Championship Game)
- No. 8 Tennessee (won vs. Vanderbilt)
- No. 7 Georgia (won vs. Georgia Tech; plays in SEC Championship Game)
- No. 6 Miami (lost to Syracuse)
- No. 5 Notre Dame (won vs. USC)
- No. 4 Penn State (won vs. Maryland)
- No. 3 Texas (playing Texas A&M)
- No. 2 Ohio State (lost to Michigan)
- No. 1 Oregon (plays Washington; plays in Big Ten Championship Game)
So with these teams listed, it’s clear that a few teams are already in.
- Oregon, win or lose in the Big Ten, is in
- Ohio State, with a loss to Michigan, doesn’t play in the Big Ten Championship, but are in the playoffs
- Texas, with a loss to A&M is still in, but with a win, they play in the SEC Championship and are still in
- Penn State, with a win, plays in the Big Ten Championship and are in either way
- Georgia plays in the SEC and it’s hard to see a 3-loss Georgia team not in
- Tennessee won on Saturday, all but guaranteeing that they’re in
- Notre Dame won vs. USC, guaranteeing their spot
- Boise State with a win in the MWC game is in; or the victor of that game will be in regardless
That’s eight teams, but the rest of the teams aren’t quite as sure.
Indiana likely won’t lose to Purdue, but if they did, they’d be out.
And now Miami losing opens the door for a ton of new options. Clemson will play SMU for the ACC Championship and this essentially guarantees only one ACC team makes the playoffs. This is the dream scenario for the Gamecocks.
The only remaining guaranteed spot will be the victor of the Big 12 Championship Game. All of those teams currently rank behind South Carolina, so that means SC would need to be ranked at least 11th to be secure.
MORE: Simulate the College Football Season with CFN’s College Football Playoff Predictor
It may not happen on the Week 14 rankings, but with how the championship game scenarios are aligning, South Carolina could sit pretty to take the spot vacated by SMU or Miami.
The committee’s ranking of SC on Tuesday will be massive, especially if they leapfrog over Alabama in the process.
College Football Network has you covered with the latest from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC, and every Group of Five conference and FBS Independent program.